No Easy Hope - 01 Read Online Free Page A

perfectly manicured hand.
     
    “Hi, I’m Kristina. You must be Mr. Riordan, right?” she said, actually pronouncing my last name correctly (REAR-dun).
     
    I shook her hand and breathed in the flowery scent of her perfume. She had gorgeous almond shaped eyes, flawless cinnamon skin, and adorable little dimples in her cheeks. She was a knockout, even though she was only about five foot three in high heels.
     
    “Yes, that’s right. I was just about to get the place cleaned up for you folks. I wasn’t expecting you so early.” I replied.
     
    “Oh, that’s alright, Mr. Garrett is really more interested in the layout of the property than in the cabin itself.”
     
    She gestured toward the big, grumpy looking guy. I remember thinking that I was more interested in her layout than I was in selling a house right about then. I was surreptitiously checking her left hand for any rings when old tall, dark and ugly made his way over to us. He offered a massive, scarred hand as he introduced himself.
     
    “Hi there, Gabriel Garrett, nice to meet you.” He rumbled.
     
    His voice seemed to start somewhere about six feet underneath his scuffed boots, and issued forth in a resonant, albeit gravelly, baritone. I shook his hand and tried not to wince at the strength of his grip. I am neither a small nor a weak man, but I knew without question that Gabriel could have crushed every bone in my hand if he’d wanted to.
     
    “Eric Riordan, nice to meet you Mr. Garrett.” I said. I resisted the urge rub my hand when he released the handshake.
     
    “Please, call me Gabe.” He said. “This is a nice place you have here.”
     
    “I wish I could take credit for it, but it belonged to my grandfather.” I replied. “The place is old, but it’s well built. Back in Grandpa’s day, people took pride in their work and appreciated good craftsmanship. At least that’s what Grandpa used to tell me. He also used to tell me that Jimmy Carter was a communist, and that people should have to pass a written exam before being allowed to vote, so I took everything he said with a grain of salt.”
     
    Gabriel laughed, and it was like listening to bunch of rocks rattling around in the bottom of a barrel. He sounded much older than he looked. I noticed that he had two thin, ragged scars that started just under his right eye and cut through his short beard all the way down to his jaw line. It occurred to me that Mr. Garrett might have been in a scrape or two over the years.
     
    “Well, your grandfather had good taste in land, at least.” Gabriel said. “This cabin is in a good location. It’s not near any major highways, there’s only one road on the mountain that leads up here, and I don’t think there are any neighbors for a few miles in any direction. Looks like the kind of place a man could go and get away from it all for a while.”
     
    Gabriel had just described all of the reasons why I had decided to sell the property to begin with. It was much too far away from civilization to suit my taste. I got lost twice the first time I came out here, and had to spend nearly an hour driving around on isolated back roads before I finally found the place. I wondered why Gabriel wanted to live so far out of the way.
     
    “Why don’t we go ahead and take a look inside the cabin?” Kristina chimed in.
     
    “Sure, let’s go on in.” I replied.
     
    I unlocked the door to the cabin and held it open for the two of them. I couldn’t help but notice the way Kristina’s hips and butt filled out her tight fitting pants as she walked by. I stepped inside after them and looked around for a light to switch on. It took me a few seconds to remember that the cabin had no electricity.
     
    Gabriel stood in the middle of the common room, silently looking around and nodding to himself. He looked ridiculously huge in contrast to the small space. After a moment, he went to either end of the cabin to take a brief look into the bedrooms. He stopped by the